Is The Office's Dwight Schrute Getting His Own Spin-Off Series?

Has Dwight Schrute outgrown Dunder Mifflin? It look like there’s a possibility that Rainn Wilson’s quirky beet-farming paper-selling character Dwight might be getting his very own show. A spin-off project may be in the works at NBC with an aim for a Midseason 2013 premiere.

Deadline posted the news today, stating that “no deals have been closed” but they hear NBC is working on a project, which is described as a “family comedy” put together by Office executive producer (and Toby) Paul Lieberstein and Rainn Wilson. The concept has the focus on Dwight and his beet farm, which has been featured many times over the course of the series’ run, including an episode earlier this season titled “Garden Party.” Schrute Farms was also featured as a bed and breakfast, and we recently learned that it was once a safe haven for eccentric men during the Civil War.

According to Deadline’s source:

“Paul and Rainn have been joking for years about Dwight’s life on the farm, his family and how ill-suited he is to run a B&B,” a source close to The Office said. “A while ago, it started to feel like a show to them. NBC agreed, it’s been further developed to include multiple generations, many cousins and neighbors. (It is unclear if that would include cousin Mose who has been featured on the show.) At its base it will be about a family farm struggling to survive and a family trying to stay together.”

As a fan of Wilson/Schrute, I can’t think of any reason why a show like this wouldn’t be great, except maybe that this is something that might have hit it big a couple of years back when The Office was in its prime. Regardless, Dwight is still one of the best characters on the show and his shenanigans at his beet farm has proven to deliver many a laugh. What’s more, Dwight has, on occasion, shared amusingly bizarre anecdotes about Schrute family life. There’s certainly potential to develop a series around it and the life of a modern day beet farmer and his family.

Deadline says the potential spinoff may be introduced in an episode later this season. As for what happens to Dwight in The Office, the site says a spinoff wouldn’t mean Dwight would leave the former series right away. Assuming The Office returns for Season 9, Wilson would return to the series in the fall “before segueing to the new series in mideason.” It'll definitely be interesting to see what transpires from this and whether or not NBC's ready to move forward on the project.

What do you think? Would you tune in to a series centered on Schrute Farms? Or is this a bad idea?